John Menzies has announced plans to close four of its UK aviation cargo operations.

The logistics and distribution group's aviation arm plans to discontinue its operations at Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands airports.

Menzies said the four divisions employ a total of 103 people, including nine at its Glasgow hub.

The restructuring of the aviation arm, which Menzies estimates will cost around £3 million to implement, will see the group focus its UK cargo business on London Heathrow, with smaller hubs in Aberdeen and Belfast.

Menzies said it is currently in negotiations with some of its rivals at the affected airports with a view to transferring its existing contracts and staff to other operators.

The restructuring is being described by Menzies as a move to return the UK cargo division to profitability.

A Menzies spokesperson said the company hopes to keep job losses to a “minimum” as it negotiates the restructuring, which may result in "single digit redundancies".

In March, Menzies reported a 31 per cent rise in profits for its aviation division to £39.4 million on turnover of £676.8 million after wining a raft of new contracts globally.

The aviation division is now the largest profit contributor to the group, and last year surpassed the distribution side of the business - focused on newspaper, magazine supply and marketing – where profits remained flat at £28.8 million.